Hello, Thursday – come on Friday! 🙂 Been a long week out here in CA – long days, and short nights – and I’m very much looking forward to a weekend (i.e.: hair and makeup NOT done!) and a little sleep. And some time to make cards! And grocery shop – the weekend chores don’t really go away, do they – they just change up a little bit!
But, I did get a chance this week to make a card for a friend. His best friend from his childhood is getting married next week, and I offered to make him a special wedding card to give the happy couple. I really wanted to use the new Sheer Perfection Vellum Designer stack. And, of course, I just HAD to have a new stamp set – you know, to be sure I had just the right sentiments to finish the card. So – I bought the For the New Two stamp set and some Sahara Sand ink, to match the Sahara Sand card stock that my head was busily designing the card around. After just a few minutes of deliberation when I sat down at my “crafting table” (in actuality the kitchen table in my hotel room), I changed my plans and dove into the card you see below. I am ridiculously happy with how the entire ensemble (yes, I made an envelope, too) turned out. Take a look-see!
I went tall-and-skinny for this one, starting with a Sahara Sand card base. The card front is a piece of Pink Pirouette CS, that I edged with the darkest Pink Pirouette Blendability. SNAIL’d to that is another piece of Sahara Sand CS. The art itself is one of the pretty designs in the new Sheer Perfection Vellum Designer Stack – that I colored with the dark Pink Pirouette Blendy. Tip: turn the vellum over and color the BACK of the paper. I noticed that the design started to smudge a little when I tried to color it on the front. Once I figured out the code, as it were, it colored quickly and easily. I let myself be a little-less-than-perfect on the coloring (gasp! I didn’t stay inside the lines!!). I like the touch of informality the slightly “messy” coloring gives the card.
When I got done with my coloring project, I finished the cut edges of the vellum by again edging with the dark Pink Pirouette Blendy. Oh – to do this just hold the larger tipped end straight up and run the paper edge horizontally along the edge. You can add more if you want more, or keep it light. Up to you!
I inked up the sentiment from the For the New Two set in SU Basic Black. Now, this sentiment has flowers on the bottom of it – that I didn’t want on the card. So, I covered them ever-so-carefully with Post-It notes. Then, because my notes weren’t too stuck on, I inked the stamp by tapping the upside-down-ink-pad on the stamp. I was also pretty hard-over on where – exactly! – the sentiment needed to go, so that it would be clear of the flowers. So, I first stamped the Stamp-a-ma-jig clear sheet with the sentiment (after removing the Post-Its). Then I had to re-apply more stickies to re-ink the stamp to actually put on the card. It sounds a lot more complex than it really is and it was well worth the little bit of extra effort!
To attach the vellum to the now sentiment-stamped Sahara Sand card front, I used a glue dot in each corner. I’d already decided to use Pink Pirouette hearts, punched with the Hearts Border Punch, in each corner (cause I knew I would need to cover up whatever adhesive I used), so I made sure that my glue dots were equally positioned in each corner. A tiny dab with the SU 2-way Glue Pen was all that was needed to stick the hearts where they needed to be, and a Pearl Basic Jewel finished each of the hearts off. Then I spent some time adhering the tiniest of the Pearl Basic Jewels to the centers of some of the vellum flowers. I have no idea how many there are – I just kept adding them until I thought it looked right – but I kept them in the top part of the flowers.
I wrapped a length of the 7/8″ Sahara Sand Lace Trim around and taped it to the back of the layered mat, and then finished that off with some Blushing Bride (apropos, no?!?!) Baker’s Twine. And then I stuck one last pearl in the center of the BT bow. Pink Pirouette, Sahara Sand and Pearls. Perfect! The card front was done when I popped it onto the base with Stampin’ Dimensionals.
On the inside, I used a piece of Pink Pirouette, edged with the dark Blendy of the same color. And then guess what I discovered? The new Sale-A-Bration stamp set Nature’s Perfection has a stamp with a flower that looks just like the flowers on the Sheer Perfection Vellum!!! Coincidence?!? Knowing Stampin’ Up! I suspect not! 🙂 So – I stamped those all across the bottom in Sahara Sand, and then added the sentiment. I texted my friend and gave him the choice of the two sentiments I’d identified for the inside, so he got to pick the one he liked best. Here’s how it looks:
Now – at this point, I’d normally add some stamped embellishments to a Medium Envelope and call it good, but…this is a special card. So – I found an appropriately sized piece of the Occasions Irresistibly Yours DSP – with some flowers – and sponged it with Pink Pirouette Ink. And then used the Envelope Punch Board to make a custom envelope (pink-flower-side in). And THEN, cause I was on a roll (and also don’t have any of the SU Sticky Strip tape), I punched out a heart with the Sweetheart Punch from a little of the remaining Irresistibly Yours DSP and stuck a piece of Double Sided Tape onto the back of it. When I gave it to Dave, I told him to use it to close the envelope when he was ready. Here ’tis – what do you think?
Yea – I stamped more of the flowers across the front of the envelope in Sahara Sand and Pink Pirouette. Couldn’t help myself!
Anyway – Dave was pleased with the result, as was I. I hope that you like it as well!
There’s only 27 days left to get in on Sale-A-Bration and to get these great new stamp sets and the vellum stack that I used in this project. Don’t miss out – I don’t know when (or if!) we’ll see these items again! And Sale-A-Bration also means the chance to earn MORE Hostess Dollars with a qualifying workshop or individual order than at any other time of the year. It’s win-win!
Click HERE to see a flyer on the new products, including some great ideas of how to use them!
TTFN and LLAP
Mary
March 1 – 31 HOSTESS CODE: 33QPV23V Use this hostess code when you order and receive a free gift from me! But, if your order is over $150, please do not use this code (you’ll miss out on your own Stampin’ Rewards/Hostess $$ if you use it) but you’ll still get the free gift. The free gift for February is your choice of any item valued up to $4.95 in either the 2014-15 Annual Catalog or the 2015 Occasions Catalog!
STAMPIN’ UP! PRODUCTS USED IN TODAY’S PROJECT:
Built for Free Using: My Stampin Blog
Built for Free Using: My Stampin Blog
Shop the Clearance Rack here.
Earn FREE Stampin’ Up! Products – Join my Punkin Head Peppermint Rewards – My online customer thank you program!
BLENDABILITIES QUALITY ISSUES
Stampin’ Up! released the following announcement about the Blendabilities line. While this is disappointing, it’s something of a testament to the company that they’re addressing an issue they find unacceptable in an up-front manner. At this point, I don’t know exactly what the issue is, but I’ll bring you guys more information as I get it.
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February 27, 2015
We are experiencing a quality issue with our Blendabilities product line. Except for the Tuxedo Black Memento Ink Pad (item #132708) and the Tuxedo Black Memento Ink Pad Refill (item #133456), all item numbers have been turned off; this includes Blendabilities Sale-A-Bration item numbers.
At this time, backorders for Blendabilities will not be fulfilled.
We thank you for your patience and will update you as soon as we have more information.
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Backorder Report – as of 4 Mar 15
Currently, the following items are on BACKORDER; backordered items will be available on or before the date indicated.
131202: Smoky Slate 8-1/2″ x 11″ Cardstock–March 9
137362: Balloon Framelits Die–March 13
126697: Wetlands Clear Stamp Set–TBD
134348: Date, Time, Place Wood Stamp–TBD
131197: Bermuda Bay 8-1/2″ x 11″ Cardstock–TBD
Currently, the following items are NOT ORDERABLE:
131262: Regals Stampin’ Write Markers
126199: Stampin’ Pierce Mat
137866: Sahara Sand 7/8″ Lace Trim
Currently, the following items have LOW INVENTORY and will move to the “Not Orderable” list (above) once our current inventory is depleted:
137380: Paper Pumpkin Clear Stamp Block (2-7/8″ x 2-11/16″; supply item)
Inky Bee Stampers
KarensCardCorner
Stamp with Amy K
Stamp With Nel
Stampin With Shirley G
Tarabeth Stamps
TL's Bright Spot
